The Banyan Resort — Hotel in Key West

This review saddens to me write but the customer service at the Banyan is the absolute worst I've ever experienced at a hotel. It is beyond terrible! They are not handling the current pandemic and have become incredibly rude and lazy. We usually enjoy staying here and actually wanted to purchase a timeshare, but unfortunately will not be after our last experience. The front desk staff and people on the phone (since you call for everything, even check in) are not helpful and borderline disrespectful. Our ice maker wasn't working, when I called to inquire if they had an ice machine somewhere on property- I was told I could walk down the street to Walgreens or CVS. We had incident after incident while staying there. We had asked about adding a few nights to our trip shortly after check in, asked to be added to a wait list, and were told that there was no way we would get a room. At check in, we were told we would have no maid service (which is fine) and to leave our trash, recycling, and linens in bags outside our door for touchless pickup. We left a small bag of trash outside our door as requested. It sat there for 36 hours, until an older woman from the office came outside to tell us (as we were leaving and already almost off property) that we needed to take our trash to the dumpsters ourselves, which are located down the block. I couldn't believe the level of rudeness and the absurdity of this woman's behavior. The resort is nice overall. The rooms are ok, outdated but good enough for Key West. We love the grounds, pools, and trees. But unfortunately Micheal and Megan both made our trip difficult and treated us poorly on repeated occasions. If the staff doesn't get their act together they are going to run this resort into the ground. On a positive note, Kathy at the tiki bar is wonderful and makes amazing drinks! We come down at least once a year with usually a large group of friends (8 people this past year). Because of how bad this year's experience was, none of us will ever stay here again and we will not be purchasing a timeshare either. I've never in my life been told to take my own trash to a dumpster, walk 3 blocks to a Walgreens for ice, and have maid service refused for a 3 night stay. I hope this review helps someone else avoid this place, it really put a huge damper...

One of the front desk staff was unpleasant, bordering on hostile. Michael, is a perfect professional though. Grounds crew are making improvements w/ smiles. Bar staff provide well from that tiny TIKI hot box kitchen, w/ laughs. Cleaning staff does their best w/o much help, especially w/ the language barriers. But the administration, including the Board needs to be adjusted to serve the needs of the sweating staff and paying guests. Please don't send owner money and commit owner money to an outside contractor for a key card system. It will only lead to marred up historical doors, a technological nightmare to maintain, an opportunity to be shaken down for new technology and additional expenses whenever the contractor tells us it is imperative, in the future. At least until this administration can get Wi-Fi to not stop working several times a day, please do not increase our dependence on technology. Not to mention the potential for a hacker to breach our security system and gain access to the property and/or individual units. Increase lighting at after hours gates if anything. The literal key system has worked for decades since the beginning of the resort and could be maintained with more accountability and responsibility on the part of guests, owners, and board members. In addition if one of these key pads stops working after hours this isn't a typical hotel where staff can gain access and just move them to another room until repaired. The after hours expenses and confusion will likely only increase versus being able to tell the guest who lost their key / locked themselves out, the expense is on them. Intoxicated residents should never be a reason to spend others' money. The last thing I want to do while enjoying the island's libations is have to pull my wallet out, in the dark, on the public side of the...

Nothing about this resort is luxurious. The best thing is the location. The rooms are dated, but if you like rattan, this is your dream. The owners at the pool are not respectful of others; they rotate playing loud music assuming everyone in attendance enjoys their selection. Several mentioned the reason they bought here was because of the capital reserve. I suggest the board start spending some of it on updates. When small trees are growing out of the gutters, there might be a problem. Our attic room was quirky. The shower has a great skylight, but there is no way to turn the shower on without getting wet. All the blinds need replacing, as many do not operate correctly. The door to the deck has no weather stripping so you can see the outside from the bottom. The kitchen is well equipped, but there is no dishwasher. When the tiki bar is open, it's excellent; the bartender was super friendly and very welcoming. But then it closed without notice in the middle of the day. The pool area is refurbished, but there are two umbrellas for over 20 chairs on a sunny pool deck. The pool is attended to once during the day. By the afternoon, tree debris is all around the deck. The iguanas eat the vegetation to death, and guests feed them and the chickens. Deminishing the beauty of the landscape. During our visit, several guests smoked at the pool as there is not a designated smoking area. One pool was closed without notice except during check-in. Housekeeping is AMAZING! These ladies and gentlemen are super friendly and very helpful in exchanging pool towels and room towels whenever you need them. I waited years to trade into this place and can say we...